Exercise that does not look like Exercise – Horse Riding

Lots of little girls want to have a pony and little boys want to grow up to be cowboys. But this is just make believe or a dream that gets put on hold as we grow up for a lot of people, however there are some interesting health and fitness benefits that can be found from horse riding.

When riding there is a high emphasis on posture and this has the benefit of being a non-traditional way of strengthening your core muscles. Riding can be viewed as an isometric exercise, which means it uses specific muscles to stay in certain positions, in this case, keeping balanced in an upright position. As a result, postural strength can be increased. There are also elements of balance and coordination need to stay upright on a horse. The faster a horse is moving the more of a challenge it is to stay balanced. A rider must develop coordination skills to move the body as the horse is moving through its paces and example of this is if the horse goes left you need to stay upright and therefore are transferring weigh to the right to achieve this.

Apart from the core muscles the inner thighs and pelvic muscles are the other muscle groups that get a non-traditional workout. The inner thigh and pelvic floor muscles are used to keep a rider positioned in the centre of the saddle through all movements from walking, trotting to cantering. The arms and shoulders get a slight work out as well as they are constantly using the reins to communicate with the horse. Depending on how long you have been riding, and how confident you are at horse riding, it can be a beneficial and relaxing activity.

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